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Author Notes:A slab pie is simply a shallow pie that's made in a rimmed baking sheet, usually a jelly roll pan. It feeds more revelers than a standard 9-inch pie will, with less mess and fuss. Martha Stewart has made all kinds of versions -- below is a distilled template that can work with any berry or stone fruit that's in season near you. Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook (Clarkson Potter, 2005) —Genius Recipes

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface or between two large, floured pieces of plastic wrap, roll out larger piece of
dough to an 18-by-13-inch rectangle, trimming excess dough. Fit into a 15-by-10-inch rimmed baking sheet, pressing into corners (pastry will hang over sides). Chill while assembling filling.

In a large bowl, stir together fruit, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Spread mixture over chilled pie shell. Chill again while you roll out the top crust.

On a lightly floured surface or between two large, floured pieces of plastic wrap, roll out remaining piece of dough to a 16-by-11-inch rectangle; drape over filling. Fold edge of bottom dough over top dough. Crimp if desired. Prick top dough all over with a fork. Brush entire surface of pie with cream (thinned with a little water if necessary), and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 40 to 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let pie cool until it is just warm to the touch, about 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into 12 pieces. Slab pie is best eaten the same day it is baked, but it can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.

Slab Pie Pate Brisee

5
cups all purpose flour

1
tablespoon coarse salt

2
teaspoons sugar

1
pound (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

12 to 16
tablespoons ice water

Process flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter. Process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream just until dough comes together. (Do not process more than 30 seconds.)

Turn dough out in two portions onto two pieces of plastic wrap, with one slightly larger than the other (this will be your bottom crust). Flatten dough, and shape into rectangles. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (or overnight).

Martha does not measure flour the correct way...she digs it our instead of putting the flour in the cup. I was taught the Cornell way over 60 years ago. If one were t weigh the flour the Cornell way would be closer to spot on. Please give the dry ingredients in weight measurements since many people have not had good luck with Ms. Martha recipes if they measure the Cornell way. There can be a difference in delicate recipes.

not to worry, she won't. Even though everybody else finally is, she won't because she never reads these comments or her blogs. Her minions do the postings (and they are often so inaccurate). I know, I'm being peevish today. But it's all true.

I'm really loving the slab pies !! T have 4 apple trees in my yard and it's so much easier to make an apple or peach ( I have one peach tree ) , or rhubarb, have some of that also !! It all goes together!! I was always guilty of packing way too much filling in my pies so the slab works perfectly for me !! Did it on my own first without a recipe, then found this on Food 52 a few years later!! Thanks for so many wonderful ideas over the years!! Love your site !! Love your ability to create a recipe index on this site also !!!

I made a sweet cherry-berry version (4 cups of blackberries, 2 cups of blueberries, 2 cups of Bing cherries) and it was wonderful! I used 1/3 cup of cornstarch and it was the right amount -- the filling was set enough to slice but there was still plenty of juice.

I don't have a food processor and so I incorporated the butter and water by hand. After letting the dough sit for an hour when I tried to roll it out it fell apart. I was unable to get it to lift off my board and stay in one piece no matter what I did. Help!

I made a peach slab pie for a friend's graduation party recently and used a half-sheet pan with success. I tend to like the crust a bit thinner so I certainly had more than enough dough. I did find that the ratios for Martha's pate brisee make a very soft and sticky dough, which is difficult to work with; less water (not more than 2/3 c) should make for a flakier crust. I also used about 4+ lbs of peaches and made a lattice top. The pie was such a hit that the hosts requested that I make it for an upcoming party that I'm hosting. That pie is currently raw, in the freezer, and I'm hoping to bake it day of the party. Will let you know how it goes!

Pro: flavors were good, and it was a time saver--baked up nice and brown.Con: I made a lattice top, with strips about 3/4 inches wide, and the edges of the crust broke in my freezer. So presentation was not as attractive. If you make a full top crust, you might be ok.Are you making an apple version?

may want to understand the capacity of your food processor if you're trying to make the pate brisse all at once… mine was a travesty because not everything blended together because it was too full…but I didn't realize it was overcapacity until it was too late. I know…my fault, it's a 9 cup processor. So I had to try again, in 2 batches.

I am making this slab pie for a church function. Since I need to make it the day before, can this be partially made and then baked the morning I need it? I would like to make the crusts, roll out the bottom one and place in pan (covered w/saran wrap). Then perhaps get the peaches ready with a tad of lemon juice to keep them from getting dark. Then place both the peaches and bottom crust in fridge. I will mix up the sugar/cornstarch mixture and set aside. Then next morning roll out the top crust and put it all together and bake. I had thought to put the whole pie together and refrigerate, but was afraid the crust would be too soggy to bake correctly the next day. Does anyone have any thoughts on this method or perhaps have a better idea.

I used 7 cups of mulberries instead of mixed berries and it was delicious! Does anyone know what the difference is between brushing the top crust with cream or egg? I used cream but an egg certainly would've been less expensive.

i made this last night just because it seemed like a good tuesday night activity, and it turned out FABULOUS. increased the fruit to 8c (3 pint packages of blueberries just didn't seem enough when i added them to the crust) and cut the sugar on the fruit to 3/4 of a cup, which was more than enough. the ratio of fruit to crust made it super easy to serve and far less messy than traditional pie.

You could make and freeze the dough in advance (just give it a day to thaw in the fridge before you want to use it). Or you could make the whole pie and freeze it -- then just put it straight in the oven. It will take a bit longer to bake, but it should work fine!

I haven't, but I think there might actually be enough dough in this recipe to work with (you just won't have as much leeway to trim it down). You'd want to bump up the filling proportionally though. Let us know if you try it!

In my rush to make this for a party yesterday, I unwittingly used a half sheet pan. I probably used about 7 cups of blueberries. It wasn't nearly as pretty as Kristen's but it seemed to be a big hit. Just had a piece cold from the fridge for second breakfast. Yum!